


The Two Things You Can't Cheat

by Sterling_Canary



Series: Writer's Month 2020 [5]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Curses, Evading death, F/M, Family Curses, First Meetings, Pushing My Rarepair Agenda, Short Chapters, Soulmates are Found Through Touch, Writer's Month 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:40:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25730746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sterling_Canary/pseuds/Sterling_Canary
Summary: Hubert may never have tried to cheat his taxes, but he cheated death quite often. However, death becomes infinitely harder to cheat when it takes the form of an old family curse.(Writer's Month 2020 Prompt 5: Soulmates)
Relationships: Mercedes von Martritz/Hubert von Vestra
Series: Writer's Month 2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1859518
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20
Collections: Writer's Month 2020





	1. Sense of Death

For Hubert von Vestra, staying alive was a perilous game. After all, many of the things he did outside of his lady’s gaze were quite immoral, sometimes even illegal. However, it was all to ensure her success, and to him, it was worth it. Death hadn’t caught him yet, and he worked to keep it that way.

All that changed when he entered the Officer’s Academy.

When Hubert stepped through the threshold of the monastery, he felt the air change. Exactly what about the air changed, he could not say. But something did.

“What’s wrong, Hubert?” Edelgard asked. “You seem ill at ease.”

“I am fine, Lady Edelgard,” Hubert said. “Simply looking forward to moving your plans to the next step.”

She raised an eyebrow, but did not press the issue further. As they continued further into the monastery, the change in the air became more and more prevalent. Was it excitement from all the other students? Was it something in the monastery? Was it a new type of poison he wasn’t aware of?

He mulled over every possible cause, but he couldn’t arrive at an answer that explained it...until he stepped into the courtyard.

 _Damn it_ , he thought. _That old family curse._

The Vestra family had been serving the Hresvelg family for over 1,000 years, and while Hubert would serve Edelgard faithfully now and forever, his ancestors did not all hold the same ideals.

Long ago, one Vestra abandoned their service to run away with their soulmate. That made the emperor _furious_ , so they ordered that Vestra be found and brought back to the palace, and their soulmate be killed. Once they were found, the emperor ordered a curse to be placed on the Vestra family to ensure a situation like this would never happen again: when a Vestra met their soulmate, a death clock would begin ticking, and they would die within a month unless they could kill their soulmate and prove their loyalty. However, the previous emperor felt the punishment was too harsh, and added an extra portion to the curse: Vestras could detect where their soulmate was just by being in the same general vicinity, whereas the rest of the population found out through touch, _and_ the clock will not begin ticking unless the soulmate has been made aware through this method. The curse caused the Vestra family to marry for convenience rather than love, but the system has kept the family bloodline running for all these years. Recent emperors have been working to undo their tyrannical ancestor’s curse, but no progress has yet been made.

Hubert thought he wouldn’t have to deal with it until well _after_ Edelgard’s plans had been completed, but the world was cruel.

_Should I bring this up with Lady Edelgard?_

“Hubert,” Edelgard said. “You are uneasy again. Do not redirect the conversation this time; I want to know what is bothering you.”

And his decision was made for him.

“I fear it is the old Vestra family curse,” Hubert told her.

“Here? Now?”

“Yes.”

“Oh dear.”

The two stood in silence as more students congregated in the courtyard.

“We are going to have to figure out who this soulmate is,” Edelgard said after some time. “Once we do, you will have to avoid them at all costs.”

“An excellent plan, Lady Edelgard,” Hubert nodded. “Let us see where this sense is the strongest.”

The two walked around the courtyard, Hubert a pace behind Edelgard. The feeling ebbed and flowed in various places, but it was strongest around a tall, sandy-blonde woman chatting with a short red-head.

“Lady Edelgard,” Hubert whispered. “I suggest you speak with those two. That is where I get the feeling the most.”

“Alright,” she whispered back. “Hello, you two.” Edelgard turned towards the two women, and extended her hand. “My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg, and I am this year’s leader of the Black Eagles. Might I get your names?”

“Oh, hello!” the red-head said. “I’m Annette, and this is my best friend, Mercedes. It’s nice to meet you, Edelgard!”

“Yes, it’s very nice to meet you,” Mercedes smiled. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Hubert von Vestra,” Edelgard gestured to Hubert, who merely stood there, arms firmly against his side, a scowl on his face.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hubert.” Mercedes held out her hand, and Hubert wanted to shake it. Oh, he wanted to shake it, but he stood firm. He would not let his death clock begin ticking down, not while he had things left to do.

“I must apologize, he’s not one for handshakes,” Edelgard jumped in. “Please forgive him. We must be off now, but it was lovely meeting you.”

“Yes; you too.”

“Bye!” Annette called after them as they walked away. Once they were across the courtyard from them, Hubert spoke.

“Mercedes,” he said. “That is who I am going to have to avoid.”

“Mercedes, hmm?” Edelgard mused. “I don’t think it will be too hard to keep you two away from each other, at least until we can reverse the curse.”

“There is no need to focus on that now, Lady Edelgard; it is the least of your concerns. Instead, let us continue making rounds. It would be especially useful for us to get to know our fellow students.”

“I agree, Hubert, but I will find a way to reverse it eventually. You have my word.”

The two resumed walking around the courtyard, talking to everyone they came across. As Edelgard handled introductions, Hubert couldn’t help sneaking glances at the woman he was to avoid.

 _Mercedes_. Either she would be the death of him, or he would be the death of her. Hubert hoped he could avoid either outcome, but it was as he said before: the world is cruel.


	2. A Simple Accident

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It seems death has finally cornered Hubert...

It had been three months since Hubert arrived at the Officer’s Academy and discovered that his most pertinent weakness, his soulmate, also attended this academy. Luckily, he managed to avoid Mercedes pretty well, though it had been getting harder since she’d transferred into his class. His incredibly charismatic professor was to thank for that.

Even though Hubert had one more danger to watch out for while at the academy, that would not stop him from helping Lady Edelgard accomplish her plans. He was pouring over some important papers that needed his signature soon as he walked through the entrance hall (it was certainly not the smartest idea, but he would do what he had to) when he bumped into someone. Usually when this occurred, all he felt was annoyance, but this time, there was a feeling of warmth...which was quickly smothered by a wave of nausea.

Only one thought went through his mind at that moment:  _ I have to find Lady Edelgard. _

“Oh, sorry, Hubert,” Mercedes said, stopping in her tracks. “I didn’t see you there.” He didn’t bother responding to her statement as he was already headed out of the entrance hall, at a faster pace than before. “Hubert? Are you alright?” She still received no response. “Is something wrong?” Clearly, something was, as he began walking even faster. Mercedes decided that the only way she was going to get any answers was to follow him, but he’d already made it to the end of the entrance hallway, so she had to run to catch up. And when Hubert heard her footsteps clacking behind her, he turned to look over his shoulder.

_ Why is she running after me? _ He thought, breaking out into a run as well.

Faster and faster they both went, through the courtyard and to the training hall, until they both ran at a full sprint.

Hubert halted before the door and turned to glare at Mercedes. “Why did you follow me?” he asked, venom in his voice.

“When I bumped into you, you seemed troubled,” she answered. “I only wanted to make sure you were alright.”

“I am fine. You may take your leave.”

“I’m sure you felt what happened when I bumped into you. Is that what’s troubling you? Because it was me rather than Edelgard?”

“That is not the reason why I looked ‘troubled’ to you. Now, if you will excuse me, I have business with Lady Edelgard.”

He turned and entered the training hall, the feeling of nausea still weighing heavily on him.

Edelgard seemed to have just finished her axe training for the day, setting her training axe back against the weapons rack.

“Lady Edelgard,” Hubert hailed.

“Ah, Hubert,” Edelgard said. “What brings you here?”

“I’m afraid I have an urgent matter to discuss with you. It is about that old...  _ affliction _ of mine.”

“Hubert, don’t tell me…”

He nodded.

“Oh dear.”

“It is fine, Lady Edelgard. We both knew this would be coming. I shall speed up preparations.”

“Don’t say things like that, Hubert. We still have a month until the curse takes you. We will find a way to reverse it before then.” Hubert opened his mouth to protest, but she cut him off. “Do not start, Hubert. I  _ will  _ find a way to fix this curse. Mark my words as not only your emperor, but your best friend.”

“...Thank you, Lady Edelgard.”

“It is no trouble. Now, we can start our search at the library. Books on Empire History might be of some use to us, as well as books on magic.”

Edelgard exited the training grounds, with Hubert following close behind her, when they came upon Mercedes just outside of the training grounds.

“Hello, Mercedes,” Edelgard greeted. “What brings you here?”

“I feared something was troubling Hubert, so I wanted to make sure he was okay,” Mercedes answered.

“I am  _ fine, _ ” he insisted. “This is nothing you need concern yourself with.”

“You are kind, Mercedes,” Edelgard said, giving her a smile, “but this is something we can handle on our own. However, we shall call upon you if we need your assistance.”

“Alright,” she nodded. “I hope you sort out whatever is troubling you.” She left after that, making her way over to the dorms.

“It would not be wise to inform her of the curse,” Hubert frowned. “The less people who know, the better it will be for us in the long run.”

“She already knows something is wrong, and she is an observant woman,” Edelgard said. “We cannot hide this from her forever, no matter how much you may want to. Besides, I feel as though she would be a beneficial asset to our research. She  _ is  _ directly involved, after all.”

“I suppose.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween, everyone! I wanted to get this chapter out before November, because I'm going to be participating in NaNoWriMo. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll try and get another one out after NaNo is over. Criticism is always appreciated!


	3. Helpful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercedes finally joins Hubert and Edelgard in trying to solve whatever was bothering Hubert. But what was bothering him, anyway?

When Edelgard and Hubert arrived at the library, they found it moderately busy. Ashe and Annette seemed to be doing math homework at one table, based on their hushed discussions. Lysithea and Claude were surrounded by books at another, and Linhardt and Ignatz were sat at a third, each focused on their own tasks of sleeping and sketching, respectively.

Thankfully, there were more than three tables at the library.

“I shall go and procure us some books on magic,” Hubert whispered to Edelgard. “I shall leave you to find us books on Empire history.”

“Of course,” Edelgard whispered in agreement before seeking out their librarian, Tomas.

“Ah, Edelgard! Hello,” Tomas greeted. “How are we today? What might you be looking for?”

“I am well, thank you,” Edelgard nodded, “and I was hoping you could point me in the direction of history books on the Empire.”

“Oh my! I wouldn’t expect the Imperial Princess to be searching for books on Empire History, but more surprising things have happened. They’ll be on the right hand side of the library, next to books on Kingdom history.”

“Thank you, Tomas.” Edelgard headed to where he directed her, and pulled out some of the books detailing partnerships in the Empire, for while the Empire specialized in magic, they did not specialize in curses. They would have to have had help from someone.

Once she grabbed her books, Edelgard sat down at a table near the back of the library. Hubert was already there, an array of books on magic and curses piled up next to him. She set her stack next to his own, and began reading the top book on the stack,  _ A Brief History of Imperial Alliances _ .

* * *

Mercedes was sat in her dorm room, thinking over what she had witnessed earlier. The normally unfazeable Hubert von Vestra, seemingly shaken up by something as simple as the revelation on who his soulmate was. Perhaps he  _ was _ simply upset that she was his soulmate, rather than Edelgard. But her brief interaction with the two of them outside of the training grounds didn’t seem like that was the reason he practically  _ ran _ from her after they bumped shoulders. Perhaps he was just shocked from the revelation.  _ That  _ made a little more sense. A third theory is that finding out who his soulmate was caused him physical pain. That was something she’d only heard about in stories, but it certainly was a possibility.

No matter the cause, she felt awful that simply brushing his shoulder caused him so much shock. She wanted to make it up to him in some way. Perhaps she would bake him some tiramisu. Yes, that was a good plan. He always seemed to be drinking coffee, so it wasn’t unreasonable that he’d like it in a dessert, too. Mercedes stood from her bed and set off for the dining hall to begin baking.

* * *

_ How to curse someone with an infinitely runny nose. How useless _ , Hubert thought to himself, turning the page in the curse book he was reading. It was perhaps the third most useless curse in the book, right behind “How to curse paper to fold perfectly” and “How to curse someone to be immune to curses”.  _ Curse  _ implied something harmful.  _ Curse _ implied something like ruining, such as the one that plagued his bloodline. At least the “infinitely runny nose” curse was harmful. The other two on the list were the furthest thing from harmful. He supposed it was his fault for thinking the library had a  _ useful  _ book on curses.

“How are you faring, Hubert?” Edelgard asked, sighing as she read her book. “This book is quite unhelpful.”

“I am, unfortunately, not faring much better than you are, Lady Edelgard,” Hubert said, turning the page from “How to curse someone with silence for one hour”. The first  _ useful _ curse he’d found. “Most curses are either harmless or mildly annoying.”

Edelgard sighed. “I’m afraid that this is the best we can do for now, until I send the letters to our families.”

“That shall be better than learning how to curse paper to ‘fold perfectly’.

“Is that truly a curse?”

“Yes.”

Edelgard and Hubert got stuck back into their books. At least the reading distracted Hubert from the nauseous feeling he still had. It was a faint feeling, but it was still there.

It was only day one. How much worse was this curse going to get?

“I am going to get lunch,” Edelgard said, bookmarking her place. “Do you want anything? I hear the special is seafood today.”

“Not at the moment, Lady Edelgard,” he replied. Truly, he didn’t know if he would be eating anything today. “I shall have something at dinner.”

“If you’re sure. Make sure you eat  _ something _ .”

“I shall try.”

Edelgard left the library, as Hubert turned the page to “How to curse a person to walk slower”.

* * *

Mercedes was just taking the ladyfingers out of the oven. She was going to soak them in coffee and assemble the cake before using an Ice spell to chill the cake and leave it until dinner. 

As she stepped out of the kitchen, leaving the tiramisu behind, she spotted Edelgard getting lunch. Mercedes figured she would join her.

“Hello, Edelgard,” Mercedes smiled, getting a plate of the special.

“Hello again, Mercedes,” Edelgard said. “I must apologize for earlier.”

“Oh, there’s no need. I’m sure you and Hubert will figure out what was bothering him.”

“I appreciate your faith in me.” The pair sat at one of the wooden tables, next to Sylvain, Lorenz, and some ladies from around the monastery. “What were you doing in the kitchen? Did you help prepare this?”

“Oh, no! I was simply making a tiramisu for Hubert. I hoped it would perhaps make him feel better.”

“That’s quite thoughtful of you, Mercedes. I’m sure he’ll like it.” Edelgard paused a second, thinking over something as she chewed on the whitefish in the special. With the difficulty they had in today’s research, Edelgard doubted it would get easier as they waited for a response to her letters. Maybe a third person could help them immensely. “Mercedes,” she started again. “I know we said earlier that we could handle it on our own, but the task is proving to be much more difficult than we initially anticipated. Would you still be interested in helping us? You certainly don’t have to.”

“I would be happy to help!” Mercedes smiled. “Shall I join you after lunch?”

“That would be nice. Thank you.”

* * *

“Mercedes? What are you doing here?” Hubert asked when she and Edelgard entered the library. Mercedes grabbed a book off the top of Edelgard’s stack and sat down beside her. 

“I came to help you with your research,” she answered. “Edelgard said you could use more help, and I was quite happy to accept!”

“It will be good to have her on our side,” Edelgard said. “Three people handling a task is much better than two. We can get it done quicker, as well.”

“I appreciate your help, Mercedes,” Hubert said, not looking up from his useless curse book. He’d just gotten through “How to curse bread to be permanently soaked”, and was starting on “How to curse water to never freeze”. “However, it is not necessary. Edelgard and I--”

“Hubert,” Edelgard cut him off. “How many times must we tell you that we are here to help you? You need not figure this out alone.”

Hubert understood that fine, it just felt... _ wrong _ to have Lady Edelgard helping him like this. He dedicated his life to serving her but now the tables have been turned, in a way. He just had to keep one thing in mind: doing this now, would allow him to continue helping his lady to make a brighter future for Fódlan.

“Very well, then,” he conceded. “At the very least, allow me to tell you what we are even searching for in the first place.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed today's chapter! I do apologize for how short the chapters are and how infrequent my updates are. Unfortunately, the short chapters are a personal preference of mine, and I've been busy with other things. Either way, I hope you enjoyed reading, and, as always, constructive criticism is welcomed!


	4. Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mercedes is brought up to speed on what exactly has been happening in the Vestra bloodline for the last 1,000 years.

Hubert divulged everything, starting from the betrayal of his ancestors before moving to the capture, the curse, and the long-term effects it had on his family. Mercedes listened with rapt attention, finally getting all the answers to her questions.

“Which brings us to today,” Hubert finished. “The curse has now become relevant, and I shall die in a month unless we can somehow find a way to fix this.” It was unsettling to hear how resigned he was to his own demise.

“This is why we avoided telling you earlier,” Edelgard added. “It’s a...rather personal matter.”

“It seems like it,” Mercedes said, frowning. “Hubert, I am so sorry that I caused this to happen.”

“It wasn’t you, Mercedes,” Hubert sighed. “It was my ancestor. If it weren’t for them, I would not have to be saddled with this burden.”

“I...see. I’ll be sure to do my part.”

“You are truly too kind, Mercedes,” Edelgard said. “Now, allow me to explain what we’re here to research. There are two main things: old allies of the empire, as well as curses.”

“Why allies of the empire?”

“If I may, Lady Edelgard?” Hubert asked.

“Of course.”

“Cursing is a rather difficult form of magic. You are aware of the type of magic I use, yes?” Mercedes nodded. “That kind of magic is structured differently than the Reason magic you are familiar with. While they are similar, allowing them to be classed in the same  _ category  _ of magic, they share enough differences that the magic  _ itself  _ has different effects. For example, if you were to try and use one of the  _ useless _ curses in this book, you could do it, and do it as well as I. However, if you were to try casting a curse as powerful as the one affecting my bloodline, you would be unable to. This is one of the many structural differences between Dark magic and Black magic.”

“And these structural differences,” Mercedes continued, “is this what allows Black magic to have elements attached to it?”

“Exactly.”

“You sure know a lot about magic, Hubert! The only other person I know who knows as much as you is Annie.”

“I have simply studied magic extensively. You, too could know as much as I or...Annie if you were to do so. Either way, Dark magic is not the sort of magic the Empire specializes in. In fact, it takes a certain  _ talent _ to be able to do so.”

“This is why we think some outside help was involved,” Edelgard jumped in.

“I see,” Mercedes said. “Let’s waste no more time, then.”

* * *

Dinner had arrived quickly, and Mercedes was grateful for it. While she had certainly learned a lot about old Imperial partnerships, such as how they and Albinea were on good terms before the Kingdom split apart from the Empire and it became more difficult to maintain relations, her eyes needed a break. “Shall we grab something to eat?”

“I would love to get dinner,” Edelgard said, stretching. “Let me check this book out, and I shall come with you.”

“And you, Hubert? I noticed you skipped lunch. Have you eaten anything today?”

“Breakfast,” Hubert said. “I have eaten nothing since then, for my appetite has been non-existent.”

“That will not do.” Mercedes took the book on his desk (he was just getting to “How to curse pillows to permanently have feathers sticking out”) and closed it. “You can check this out and read it in your room. For now, I’ve prepared a dessert just for you!”

“For me?”

“Yes! Tiramisu. It’s a dessert with coffee in it.”

“It certainly sounds like something you’d enjoy,” Edelgard said, coming back to the group.

“You need not twist my arm; I shall try a bite.”

Edelgard and Mercedes smiled as Mercedes pulled him from the table and to the dining hall. The trio grabbed a plate of the special, Two-Fish Sauté, and sat down to eat.

Hubert’s appetite had not changed since lunch; that is to say, none. His plate went virtually untouched throughout dinner.

“Hubert, you’ve eaten nothing,” Edelgard commented. He noticed that nearly every other student’s plates were empty.

“I simply don’t have an appetite, my lady,” he said.

“You must eat something. One bite, at least.”

Hubert did as his lady ordered. It tasted as good as it did the last time the dining hall served it, but it was tough to make himself eat it.

“If you don’t feel up to eating, then you don’t have to try the tiramisu,” Mercedes frowned. “Just make sure you’re eating enough to stay alive.”

“I said I would try it, and I shall.”

“If you’re sure.”

Mercedes got up to grab the tiramisu, which had been chilling all day. She cut the cake into three slices, two regular-sized for herself and Edelgard, and one very thin slice for Hubert.

“This looks great, Mercedes,” Edelgard smiled.

“And it will taste just as good!” Mercedes said.

Mercedes and Edelgard dug into their slices immediately. Once again, it was tough for Hubert to make himself take a bite. Once he did, he found it delicious. It was sweet, but not overly so. Mercedes was quite the talented baker, and he said as much to her.

“Thank you; that’s sweet of you to say.”

“It is just the truth.”

They finished dinner with nothing else exciting, and retired to their rooms afterward.

Day one had finished. What did the rest of the month have in store?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really enjoy coffee-flavored desserts, but not coffee itself. I find it takes too much sugar to make it drinkable. Criticism is always appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> Admittedly, this is one of the prompts on the list I was worried about, solely because I'm not the biggest fan of soulmate AUs. But this was actually a ton of fun to write, and I've even got ideas beyond this, so I'm going to return to this one after Writer's Month is over. Criticism is always appreciated!


End file.
